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Me too!

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@bentbike33 163647 wrote:

How about connecting the pedestrian/bike facility on the SOUTH side of the TR bridge (raise your hand if you knew such a thing existed) to something, anything, on the Virginia side, like maybe the MVT (which should be inside the red box). Now if you get on that path, easily accessible from the DC side, it dumps you into a wilderness on the wrong side of the GW Parkway.

???

Well, I’ll be damned.

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@zsionakides 163599 wrote:

On my way home today, I nearly got nailed

Oh sure, “politely” waved you on while they were busy doing something reckless. Glad it didn’t result in catastrophe, that is indeed a dangerous intersection.

Weren’t there a couple of PAL events at the Weenie Beanie recently to discuss redesigning that area? I didn’t make it to any of them, but maybe someone else can report on the status.

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@Judd 163544 wrote:

Rode to Jones Point to check it out. Couldn’t find a sign about the fill but there are lots of signs about the World War I shipyard.

IIRC, some of the railroad tracks serving that shipyard are still visible.

And the waterfront wall/structure along the MVT at the end of Jones Point parking lot is shaped like one of the ships (both from above and as seen from the water).

Aerial view:
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@consularrider 163488 wrote:

Has anyone else lost the “Activitiy Feed” from their Strava Dashboard?

Yes. But it just came back.

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Notes from tonight’s DDOT meeting.

Good News: They’ve heard us. 4 or 5 cyclists plus a WABA staffer were there piling on about how security closures around the White House / Lafayette Square are breaking vital connectors and putting us at risk. Everyone in the room pretty much agreed it’s happening more frequently, and the worst part about it is not knowing until you get there whether you’ll have to detour.

Not So Good News: Despite unanimous aggravation, nobody claims to have any influence over the Secret Service, and solutions are not forthcoming (didn’t I say that earlier? no surprise). DDOT is sympathetic, however, and trying to include those issues in design considerations for places like H Street where we have to bail out in those circumstances.

Good News: The Downtown West proposal includes dedicated, protected bike lanes on Penn Ave between 17th and Washington Circle. It earns WABA’s praise because it right-sizes an overbuilt road, and provides safer “complete streets” through a vital business district. A few design details pending, this part of the project could be fast tracked. Whee!

TBD News: The other proposal is for a contraflow bus lane on H Street between New York Ave and Penn Ave. It could relieve traffic congestion, but otherwise does nothing for cyclists. H Street doesn’t have a lot of room to work with, so they can’t add a bike lane, but could possibly widen the sidewalk between Madison Place and 15th to give pedestrians (and walking cyclists) more room. Meh. Some businesses along that road (especially hotels, who have guests loading/unloading) pretty solidly oppose the bus lane for safety and access reasons.

A few illustrations below. You can find all the details about Downtown West on their web site, including contact info for DDOT project manager Megan Kanagy. Send your comments to her and WABA, and illustrate with maps and drawings (it helped me a lot).

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More good news (gleaned from walking out with the WABA staffer): NPS has funding approved to study extending the 15th Street cycle track all the way to Constitution Ave. One step forward in saying goodbye to the t-shirt truck gauntlet, yay!

And more: Project is approved to widen the path up the hill to the 14th Street bridge (next to Jefferson Memorial) and improve that transition. The utility pole can’t be moved, but the pavement will be widened significantly to avoid it and (no, really) the pole will be wrapped in goalpost-like padding.

So….. who drank a beer for me at TdF, hmm?

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Well, I’ve heard enough echoes of my own aggravation that I’m going to the DDOT meeting tonight in Foggy Bottom. I expect a bunch of foregone conclusions (e.g., “We can’t do anything about the Secret Service shutdowns”) and I’ll probably be shouting into the wind. But better to show up and complain than say nothing. I’m all for dedicated bus and bike lanes, but to have them closed off every few days kinda negates the improvements.

Wish me luck (and have a beer for me at the TdF party?).

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@anomad 162986 wrote:

I haven’t done a scientific study or anything, but GIS geeks seem to like bicycles. Or maybe bicycle geeks seem to like GIS?

I can back that up with more anecdotal evidence, by the number of my coworkers at NatGeo who fall in both categories!

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DDOT is considering dedicated bus lanes on H Street, which might make it less of a nightmare.

In addition….. “A protected bikeway on Pennsylvania Avenue would also be fantastic. DDOT is considering a two-way bikeway on one side of the street, or a pair of protected bikeways on each side. Either way, Pennsylvania Avenue is a great place for a bikeway, because while it used to be a large avenue carrying traffic right past the White House, with it closed past 17th Street it’s now wider than it needs to be for the traffic it carries.”

I’ll believe it when it happens, but if you want a voice there’s a meeting on Thursday, July 20, 6:30-8 pm at GWU Funger Hall, 2201 G St NW, Room 222 or a link to send them an email.

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Not just you, it seems like a more frequent yet arbitrary pain in the @ss. I am similarly stuck trying to get north and south. Kinda sucks the fun out of bike commuting.

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Washington Post article giving the issue some publicity.

#dontreadthecomments

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Encouraging response from my letter to Senator Ebbin (VA District 30).

Thank you for writing to me in regards to the recently released concepts for the “Transform 66” project, specifically the current design proposal for the 22 mile multi-use path with me. The Custis Trail is an important resource for both car-free commuters and recreational cyclists, joggers and walkers. I support the inclusion of a multi-use trail in the project, and share your concerns regarding the noise, debris, snow removal, heat, and accessibility of the portion of the trail adjacent to I-66 that lies between the traffic lanes and the sound wall. After reviewing your concerns, and the concerns of many members of the cycling community like yourself, I have arranged for a briefing today with the Virginia Department of Transportation “Transform 66” project team where we will discuss the issues that you have raised. Thank you again for your advocacy on behalf of the Northern Virginia cycling and recreational communities. Please contact my office if you require future assistance with state-related matters. Best regards,
Adam P. Ebbin
Member, Senate of Virginia

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@hozn 162151 wrote:

Well, I took off the coupler and cleaned it out — it was really dirty in there, lubed it with the flu grease and tightened it with the new — much better — tool from S&S and it has been perfectly quiet now. Including all 5+ hours of HBR today. So I believe the problem is dirt — or maybe never getting a clean coupler contact on account of dirt.

I saw that S&S actually puts a big warning to cover the couplers on wet or dirty rides. Seems excessive, but I took preventative measures today!

All great to hear (and I elited your post for the picture)!!

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Sticking with the triple is a decent and practical answer, for now. It gets me a range of about 22-124 gear inches with lots of little steps in between, and without spending a bomb. With my not-so-great knees it’s more than a luxury to always land in the perfect cadence. We have tentative plans for bike touring the Adirondacks later this summer, I’ll report back on whether I went far enough!

Gearing for touring bikes has long been a dilemma. In fact this prompted a long discussion with bluerider (another Vaya owner) awhile back. He went with a 1×11 which, amazingly, wasn’t even a thing when I bought mine. I can see the appeal of 1x for sure, but reviews from people I know have been mixed enough that I’m not ready for it on my primary go-everywhere bike.

The default for Salsa now is a SRAM setup, probably because they can achieve a wide gear range with SRAM’s intercompatibility of parts. Surly’s Long Haul Trucker comes with a Shimano triple. Co-Motion gives us the choice between Shimano mountain triples and Rohloff or Pinion (which I was just introduced to last year) internal drives. There’s lots of argument for Di2 (another new one to me). Things could evolve by leaps in another three years. Adventure Cycling mag does a good job of keeping up with trends.

Or, maybe next time we’ll take DismalScientist’s heckling seriously and all go back to Suntour barcons. :rolleyes:

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